Javi Salas breaks down new Canes' arms Griffin Hugus, Will Smith and Carson Fischer

[DMoney]

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Miami’s pitching depth was a major weakness in 2024, with a lack of experienced midweek and bullpen options. The Canes have acted quickly in the Portal to address these needs. Javi Salas, who pitched the 23rd perfect game in D1 history and host the Bullpen Mafia podcast (link here), broke down the newest Canes:

On the need for arms: First and foremost, we're addressing a huge need with pitching depth...

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[Lance Roffers]

This was a nice breakdown. And not just because Javi Freaking Salas somehow knows my name.

I liked how you talked about the E-W vs. N-W variations of a pitcher. The sweeper revolution gets the press for the E-W guys, but the letter-high fastball is a pitch that most hitters struggle with and you're seeing the "rising" fastball guys look to tunnel off that because if you can cause a moment of hesitation on either pitch you've changed the timing. High fastballs are more prone to HR's, of course, so you'll see a few from Hugus, but I think his potential as a pitcher-only at UM.

I did a quick study on DII to DI players, and while the sample is still too small to make sweeping declarations, thus far, the pitchers from DII to DI have fared much better in aggregate than the hitters. Fischer has a chance to fill a starting spot and be a lot more reliable than what we had last year.

Finally, like that you've spoken about roles and age. Getting old and staying old is the key to sustained success and you can see Miami wants to have reliable experience in the bullpen this year.

College baseball teams want to get to your middle relief. Unlike in the pros where your best arms tend to be relievers throwing 100 mph, in college, you're generally throwing younger guys or guys who rely on deception to get outs in those bridge innings (because teams don't have enough good arms to fill all the needed spots in a bullpen).

These moves and subsequent depth moves have made it where Miami can go several deep legit arms in their bullpen and just need two weekend starters to let the mold dry for how to return to the tournament next year.

 

[DMoney]

Griffin Hugus in the Cape:

18.2 IP, 2.89 ERA, 19 K, 3 BB, 0 HR

He's been a reliever, but I wonder if we develop him as a starter. He may have more upside than any other arm on the roster.

 

[HurricanePhilly]

Love the K to BB. If we aren’t going have many guys with velo let’s at least make them swing it to get on.

Obviously guys are a bit more confident attacking wood bats. But that’s really good so hopefully it Carries over.

 

[Canesfreak]

Love the K to BB. If we aren’t going have many guys with velo let’s at least make them swing it to get on.

Obviously guys are a bit more confident attacking wood bats. But that’s really good so hopefully it Carries over.

I’m not sure those wood bats are the same wood bats from our era. Those Baum bats pop. Not sure how much wood is even in them.

 

[DMoney]